Las Vegan James Holzhauer headed back to ‘Jeopardy!’
James Holzhauer will get the chance to add to his “Jeopardy!” nest egg after all.
The Las Vegan known as “Jeopardy James” thanks to his ridiculous 32-game winning streak is among 15 former contestants invited back for the show’s Tournament of Champions.
He’s already looking forward to a possible rematch against Emma Boettcher, the librarian who ended his headline-making run on the June 3 episode.
“Emma might be the toughest opponent in the field,” Holzhauer wrote Wednesday in an e-mail to the Review-Journal. “But I think the idea of a rematch is exciting, and it’s definitely helping to promote the tournament.”
The 10-day event is scheduled to air Nov. 4-15 and offers a grand prize of $250,000.
“Strategy-wise, since the prize payouts are basically fixed, there’s no real reason for me to aim for a six-figure final score,” Holzhauer wrote of his famously bold playing style. “But I might try anyway.”
The sports bettor said he’s in the market for a little side action via online sportsbooks, assuming Nevada doesn’t legalize entertainment wagers by then, so he “can throw some money down on myself like Floyd (Mayweather) would.”
Holzhauer finished with $2,462,216. To illustrate just how dominant he was, Josh Hill of North Little Rock, Arkansas, who has the next-highest earnings headed into the Tournament of Champions, took home $163,721.
Boettcher left the show with $97,002 in three victories.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter. Review-Journal sportswriter Todd Dewey contributed to this report.
